They TOOK what they NEEDED

In the TAKE what you NEED poster, I found the best toy I've had in a long time!

It's been a real pleasure watching people first discover the poster, then noticing that more and more - and eventually all - of the tabs have been removed.

It was interesting to notice that "FREEDOM" was the first tab to go.

I wonder what that means?  Financial, spiritual, emotional...?  I guess it means something different to all of us.

The last tabs to go were PEACE and HEALING, then the very last was BEAUTY, which I thought was rather nice. It seems that our "takers" this week were more interested in their spiritual well-being than their physical appearance.  How very Golden Bay!

Now, I must tell you that I haven't owned up to doing this to anyone locally, and if you come into the shop and front up to me I will tell that I couldn't say who was responsible.  I will deny all knowledge 'cos half of the fun is anonymity!

A nice guy came in and while he was browsing the beads we chatted a little, as we do.  He did ask if I had made the sign and I just looked dumb (not hard - there you go - I said it before you did!). 

He said how cool he thought it was and showed me his tab - how sweet!

I think I'm addicted to this now, and I'll make another one soon.

Do you have any ideas of new "gifts" to use?

Oh, by the way, here's that new necklace and bracelet I was working on for the Stitchbird's new shop in Wellington.  Peacock Colours Chakra Lotus Flowers...

One Gorgeous Week!

It's been a good week.  Firstly, the weather, apart from one day of rain - which the garden really needed by the way - has been drop-dead-gorgeous.  I mean perfect day after perfect day!  It was so clear the other day that we could see Mount Ruapehu from our living room.  Now this may not seem remarkable to you, but Mount Ruapehu is hundreds of kilometres away in the middle of the North Island!  We couldn't believe our eyes!

Dawn at Pohara - Mount Ruapehu is the little cone in the distance

We had friends in for an evening meal three times this week so I was able to potter away in the kitchen to my heart's delight making meals that we wouldn't usually bother with.  It's been great to catch up with old friends, though I think the waistband of my jeans is a little more snug that it was.

My gardening friend brought me a gift this week - do you remember the gorgeous flower I showed you late last year?

She brought me some "pups" - apparently that's what they call succulent cuttings - already potted up and ready to sprout.

Epiphyllum "Flamingo"

I love having precious little treats in the garden - I love having  treats whatever the context, really! AND I have the body to prove it!

Speaking of bodies, I had a Cranio-Sacral treatment with local naturopath Carolyn Simon this week and it was absolutely AMAZING!  Don't ask me how it works, but I'm here to tell you that it does.

The movements are so subtle that as my body moved and relaxed into the treatment I kept asking Carolyn "How did you do that?"  and "How did that happen?"  She finished off with a flower essence treatment which was also really fascinating - I had essences of New Zealand native plants which relate back to the chakras, which are a particular passion of mine.

My head has been buzzing with ideas for beads this week - well, with ideas for jewellery to be more precise. 

This is something a bit different for me and as I was making it I kept showing it to visitors to the workroom, asking for their opinions.  They were all really positive, but I still feel a little unsure about it.  Does it lack texture?  I love the colour wash of purples and teals and I like the weighting of the beads, and it's quite dainty... Is this a new direction for the work?

I also made a set of plain ivory beads a couple of weeks ago - they're heavily graduated and round.  The ivory glass worked differently across the piece so it has a little subtle variation.  I'd like to make something similar, but I'm not sure what colour to use.  Perhaps lime green?  I made these for Julie, who is a redhead and they look fabulous on her.  She calls them her glass pearls.

Some friends of ours have been doing loads of fishing lately and have been keeping us in beautiful blue cod - our favourite fish - piquant and fine textured - perfect fried in the pan with a little butter!

Look what they found in the gut of a fish they caught - they are so beautiful that it's hard to do them justice in a photo!

Exquisite!

Little Bliss List

I've just found a new (to me) blog written by Liv Lane and am finding it quite inspiring.  One of the challenges she set was to write a small Bliss List - a list of your joys of the week.

I've always enjoyed writing my lists of Gratitudes but have decided to change it and broaden it to 

The Little Bliss List.

What are the things that light up your life?

Take a few minutes and think about them - they will bring a smile to your face!

Last night our neighbour arrived with this box of perfect apricots from Central Otago and invited us to choose some.  They were the perfect taste of hot summer days!

Feather Gift

Because I sit on my backside to work for most of the day I need to take lots of exercise, and lately my friend who lives nearby and I have been walking on the beach at dawn every morning.

It’s been lovely to see the lengthening of the days this way and we’ve really noticed recently that the mornings are much lighter. When we leave at 6.30 am the hills are just picked out by the first of the dawn light, but by the time we get home 45 minutes later it’s full daylight.

It’s a great way to see the day in, and we’re really energized when we get home.

As we were coming home this morning I almost stepped on a beautiful and perfect feather – I love to receive feathers from nature – I always feel as though they are a blessing.


In the book The Secret Language of Signs by Denise Linn feathers are said to be the connection between man and the supreme being, symbolizing the flight to spirit and to the heavens above. Maybe it’s that something is soft or “as light as a feather” or maybe I have “a feather in my cap”? Whatever it is, I love it and am grateful.

Now I need to see if I can discover what type of bird it came from – it’s such an unusual shape and colour.